Microsoft Corp. dropped a nearly decade-long legal battle with European regulators Monday, agreeing to an antitrust ruling that has already led to millions of dollars in fines.
The world's largest software company will lower the royalty fees it charges rivals for critical interoperability information they need to make programs that work smoothly with Microsoft's Windows.
Executives at Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said there would not be an appeal to a Sept. 17 decision by the EU Court of First Instance that turned down its challenge to a 2004 European Commission order finding Microsoft guilty of monopoly abuse.
"We will not appeal the Court of First Instance decision to the European Court of Justice and will continue to work closely with the Commission and the industry to ensure a flourishing and competitive environment for information technology in Europe and around the world," a company statement read.
The Sept. 17 ruling confirmed a European Commission judgment in 2004 that Microsoft impeded competition by including Media Player in all of its Windows operating systems, fining the company more than $613 million. The order by the EU court also forces the technology giant to share communications code with rivals and sell a copy of Windows without Media Player.
EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes said Microsoft could no longer use its leverage over the computer market — supplying a 95 percent share of all desktop operating systems — "to harm consumers by killing competition."
She added that Microsoft could still face penalties for overcharging royalties on interoperability information. Backdated daily fines would stop as of Oct. 22.
Kroes said the EU order set a precedent for Microsoft's future behavior for other areas, such as its Office software and its new Vista operating system.
The changes are expected to affect the software sector, especially work group servers where Microsoft has a 70 percent market share.
"The repercussions of these changes will start now and will continue for years to come," Kroes added.
The company will now charge a one-time fee of 10,000 euros ($14,310) to any developer — including those working on open source systems such as Linux — for "complete and accurate" technical information to help make software compatible with Microsoft's Windows desktop operating system. It had previously demanded a percentage of future sales.
Developers such as IBM Corp. and Sun Microsystems Inc., which sell software based on Linux, will pay a worldwide patent fee of 0.4 percent of revenues for Microsoft's data. Microsoft's original rate was 5.95 percent.
If the software maker does not keep to the terms of the deal, competitors will be able to take the company to Britain's High Court to seek damages.
From NPR reports and The Associated Press
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
